Health expert explains importance of family planning and need for women to invest in contraception

Birth control choices now are both safe and widely available. Photo Courtesy: iStock

Early pregnancy, poor family planning, and failure in considering crucial health as economic factors before planning a child can lead to complications. Proper family planning on the other other hand offers multiple benefits. But how exactly?

Dr Padma Srivastava, consultant obstetrician & gynaecologist, Motherhood Hospitals, Lullanagar, Pune says, "Adolescents are twice as likely as women over the age of 20, to die as a result of pregnancy-related problems. Adolescent children are also more likely to have a low birth weight, illness, stunting, and other nutritional problems.

Why is family planning important for women?
Family planning prevents unnecessary maternal and infant mortality and ensures better nutrition for newborns and other children in the household by providing all women (and their partners) with a reliable way to space births. It also allows them to choose what is best for them, and decide on a family size that the household can sufficiently provide for.

Family planning, in conjunction with other interventions such as delayed marriage and access to education, gives women and girls more control over their lives and well-being. It assists people in reaching their full academic, professional, and personal potential. And this has a knock-on effect: children of educated moms, for example, are more likely to receive education themselves, contributing to a country's human capital.

Should I use the birth control pill?
There are several methods of contraception available. Your doctor can assist you in making an informed decision about what is best for you and whether or not to use the pill. Consider if the pill's advantages exceed the hazards. These are unique to each individual. You can discuss the pill and its health risks the risk of cancer with your doctor.

It's vital to note that other factors influence your cancer risk more than the medication. You can lower your risk of cancer by doing the following: Stop smoking, maintain a healthy weight, and consume less alcohol.

Modern contraception is more than simply a tool for family planning. Monitored use of contemporary contraception by competent health staff can help to regulate periods, reduce discomfort, and minimise the duration of bleeding in girls and women who have excessively long, irregular, or painful periods. This enables women to have better physical and mental health, miss fewer days of school or work, and be more active in daily life, all of which contribute to their empowerment and human capital potential.

Contraception with hormones does not protect women against STIs. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cumulative cases of syphilis, gonorrhoea, and chlamydia have increased following decades of reduction. More than 500 million individuals worldwide are infected with genital herpes (HSV), and an estimated 300 million women are afflicted with the leading cause of cervical cancer, human papillomavirus (HPV).

Birth control protects your personal autonomy and your right to have sex without the risk of pregnancy. Birth control choices now are both safe and widely available, but not everyone has access to them.

Becoming a parent sooner than desired or having unplanned babies can result in an adverse toll on health, financial burden in the family, setback on the career for women and psychological changes like frustration depression and loss of self-esteem.

Also Read: Afraid of having sex due to pregnancy scares? Experts share tips that will help